Sanitary container and lid operating means therefor



July 7, 1936. J. ROBERTSON ET AL 2,046,486

SANITARY CONTAINER AND LID OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 16, 1954 I||||||||| l l' u m mwu 0.? wk WW N 0 E m J Patented July 7, 1936 "STATES .TP A'T E N T i OFF] CE SANITARY CONTAINER LID OPERAT- ING-MEANS THEREFOR,

JameslRobertson and George H. Purdy, San FranciscoyCalif.

Application March "16, 1934;S'erial No; 715,900

4 Claims. (01.220-36) *I'O his hands to-bpen 'a container into which the 'contentsof the pail is tobe deposited, as the device"is'so constructed that a pressure exerted by the wei'ghtof thepailautomatically opens the lid-o'f the container to permitthe contents of the pail'tobe deposited in the container, and the 11d "automatically closedafter the pressure of the ail is removed.

Another object of our invention is'to provide a "sanitary container having a novel carriage structure which is adapted foruse in automatil'tially -raising and lowering the lid of'the container and in facilitating the emptying of thecontents df a'pail into the said containerwhile'the lid is "in 'a raised position.

- I CAfurther object of our invention 'is'to provide asanitarymiIkcOntainei' having a detachable strainer and drainpipe therein "which may 'be *readil-y removed for cleaning purposes.

" h still-furtherobject of our invention is to pro- "'*vide"a=*sanitary milk receptacle whichfis so designed that*its lid may-beautomatically raised and loweredwithout the physical'engagement" of "*o'nes"harms-With 'anyjpart of the device, thereby obviating-(inept the most common sources through which bacteria or germs are brought intoengagem'ent'with the receptacle.

Other-objects more'pr less apparent will present themselves or will be specifically pointed out in the description of our invention which is to 40 follow.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section through a device embodying our invention and Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device.

45 Referring to the drawing the numeral I designates a container of any suitable shape and construction having a discharge opening in its side wall adjacent its bottom which communicates with a discharge pipe 2. Removably ex- 50 tending into and frictionally attached to the discharge pipe, and preferably lying in a horizontal position just above the bottom of the container, is a perforated drain and strainer pipe 3 through which milk or other liquid deposited 55 into the container must pass before entering the of the'top plate 4. The projecting ends 8 of the discharge pipe 2. The drain pipe may be read- 'ily removed for sanitation andcleaningpurposes by manually pulling it in such a manner'thatits attached end is disengaged from the discharge pipe 2. V

The top of the container is provided with a segmentshape top plate 4 which partially closes the top end of the saidcontainer and is provided with an upturned flange 5 at its straight inner edge. Extending over anddownwardly alongside the flange 5 is aco-operating flange 6*"0f a lid or cover I adapted to close the remaining'portion of the upper end of the container I. The

'two co-operating "flanges 5 and 6 allowthelid to be raised aboutthe said flanges as a pivot,'also permitting the said lid to be quickly removed for cleaning or sanitation purposes'without theuse of 'toolsor without the necessit'y'of unscrewing nuts or bolts.

'The curved'or arcuate edge ofthe lid 'Iisprovided with a downturned flange 1", the oppositelydisposed'ends 8 of "which project beyond the ends of 'thestraight' flange B of thesaidlid'and are located in spaced relation to the side'edges 5 flange I are each'provided with a hole'into whichthe hooked'ends of a curved orother suitablysliaped link member'S extend. The curved link member'exten'ds' in'a downward sloping directionaround a part of the si'dewall'ofthecontainer but'in'spaced relation thereto.

A slotted flange III at the front lower'edge of the container I and a bracket II secured tothe side wall of'the'said container nearits'top front "edgedirectl'y above the flange I0, serves to de- 'tachably mount aI'vertically disposed bar I2. The bar IZ'is' normally positioned in ayerticahposition against the front side wall of the container I with its lower inwardly bent end extending through the slot in the flange Ill and its upward- 40 ly disposed end extending between the bracket I I and the side wall of the container. The flange I0 serves to support the bar I2, while the bracket II serves to prevent the top end of the said bar from being pulled away from the side wall of the container when a forward or a downward pressure is applied thereto.

Pivotally secured as at I3 to the bar I2 is a triangularly shaped member I4 which has an upwardly and forwardly disposed flange I4 extending from its top edge. The forwardly disposed part of the flange I4 is spaced from the top side of the triangularly shaped member I4, and located between the said flange and the said top side is the link member 9. When the tri- 5 angular member I4 is moved about its pivot l3 in a downward direction, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the link member 9 is carried in a downward and forward direction, thereby causing the flange 8 of the lid 1 to be similarly moved so as to raise the lid above the opening in the top end of the container.

Pivotally secured as at 115 to the triangular member M at the forward apex of the latter, is a substantially upright rod l6 which is pivotally connected at a point just below its top end by a link I! to the upper end of the bar I2. Pivot ally attached to the top end of the rod it, as at I8, is a swinging member IS, the lower free'end of which is provided with an upwardly disposed flange 20.

In order to open the lid 1, a pail 2!, contain ing milk or other material, is-placed with its lower edge resting on and engaging with the flange 2B of the swinging member IS. The weight of the pail and its contents move the member l9 and the rod I6 in a downward direction, as indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 1,

T the lid is open, the bottomof the said pail is swung outwardly' andupwardly while still having the greater part of its weight supported by .the flange 20 of ,the swinging member IL). The engagement ofthe flange '20 with the bottom edge of the pail causes the member ill to swing upwardly about the pivot l8 as the said pail is manually moved to a dumping position. After the contents of the pail are emptied'into thecontainer and the weight thereof is removed from the swinging member I9, the latter falls back against the rod Hi. The force of gravity causes the lid 1 to move downwardly and automatically close the opening in the top end of the container, thereby actuating the link member 9, the triangular member M, the rod l6 and the member I9 '50 they again resume their normal positions.

Various changes and modifications may .be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention what we claim is: I

1. The combination comprisinga container, a lid mounted for pivotal movement on the container, a semi-circular link member having its ends attached to lugs carried by the lid, a lever member pivotally mounted at the front of the container having means for engaging with the semi-circular link member, a movable rod pivotally attached to the lever member, and a swinging member pivotally attached to the rod, the

said swinging member having means thereon for engaging with a part of a receptacle.

2. The combination comprising a container, a lid mounted for pivotal, movementon the container, rearwardly disposed lugs carried by the lid and extending rearwardly beyond the pivotal connection of the lid and container, a semi-cir cular link member attached at its ends to the lugs of the lid, the said member extending around the front of the container, a lever member pivotally mounted at thefront of the container for movingthe semi-circular member, whereby the lid may be raised above the container, a substantially upright bar pivotally attached adjacent its lower end to the lever member, the said bar being movably attached adjacent its upper end to means for confining its movement within certain limits, and a swinging member pivotally attached to the upper end of the bar, the said swinging member having means thereon for-,en-r.

said pivotal connection, and means for actuatingthe link member whereby the lid may be raised, the said means including a movable carriage member, a swinging member pivotally attached to the carriage member at a point above the top of the container and adapted to be moved by the weight of a receptacle placed thereon, and pivotal means interposed between the link member connected to the lug, pivoted means mounted on the side wall of the container and connected to the link member, and an outwardly swinging receptacle supporting arm pivoted to 'said means at a point above the top of the con- 4 tainer, the said means being adapted to be moved in a downward direction by the weight of a re- 'ceptacle placed on said arm, wherebyrthe link member may be actuated to raise the lid. g

JAMES ROBERTSON. GEORGE H. PURDY.

40 member and the carriage member for actuating 

